Sally Gray - Kettle Falls, WA
ChanceIn January 2008, CHANCE, my equine friend of 14 years lost his zest for life. He stood with his head hanging and wasn’t interested in walking any more than he had to, but would walk if lead. I called the vet. Fearing laminitis, I duct taped foam cutouts on his soles to take the pressure off his lamina if indeed it was laminitis. He had had a laminitis attack in 2002, but that attack seemed sudden, and he refused to move at all, so I wasn’t certain it was laminitis.
The vet arrived and declared he had a sore shoulder. Perhaps he had slipped on the snow. I wasn’t convinced, but they are the “experts”. Fortunately, her assistant recommended she take a blood sample. This would prove invaluable in the diagnosis odyssey that followed.
Chance was given BUTE and BANAMINE and I was told he’d get better. This didn’t happen. I stalled him per their advice, but after almost a week, he wasn’t better. He was in so much pain he didn’t want to move, and the drugs weren’t helping. I hated giving him so much BUTE and BANAMINE for fear it would ulcerate his stomach. In the meantime I was told by another vet that I should think about the possibility of putting him down.
I was desperate for good advice. I was willing to do anything I could afford to help him. I went on line and came across the For Love of the Horse website, among several other sites that claimed to be able to help. After much searching, I cried out to GOD and said that I didn’t know which one’s claims were true and would be helpful and asked HIM for direction. I was drawn back to For Love of the Horse. I gave them a call.
I can’t describe the peace I felt as I talked to Janelle. She was very understanding and gave me reason to hope. I have to admit, the tears of relief and hope flowed. I filled out the questionnaire and advice was given on which herbs would be helpful. I was assigned a wonderful mentor, Angela Burgess, and following their advice, Chance’s recovery began.
I followed their directions explicitly with the following protocol which started on 1.22.09
MMP Stop 3 days 4 scoops 2x day
EMS/Cushing’s/IR 4 scoops 3x day (until bloodwork shows its not needed - at least 6 months)
when MMP Stop completed add:
Hoof Ailments 4 scoops 2xday (can do this 3x also) until no longer hoof sore, re-introduce anytime there is abscessing. Total Immune Health 4 scoops 2xdayAfter I started giving him the MMP STOP and EMS/Cushing’s/IR, it took three days for him to want to walk and by the fourth day, was walking with much less hesitation. He started getting Hoof Ailments and no other pain reliever with the EMS/Cushing’s/IR and Total Immune Health. After he was FINALLY x-rayed and trimmed, a week after beginning the MMP Stop and other protocols, his progress to more comfortable walking truly began in earnest. By the 11th day after beginning the protocol, he was moving about with the mares at varying rates of speed with no apparent discomfort at all with his therapy boots on.
During this time I put “Nikes” on Chance. I cut out a gardening kneeling pad the shape of the inside of his sole and duct taped them on. This took pressure off his compromised lamina and helped his comfort level a bit. Getting x-rays of Chance’s feet was the next hurdle. Living in a location where trailering out was not a possibility in the ice and snow, I had to wait for the vet to be able to come down here. One refused. The other came a week later when she got back to town. The vet was AMAZED to see how much Chance had improved in the last week. The vet was just setting up her equipment when my farrier drove up! The timing for both their arrivals was unplanned and miraculous. Upon viewing the digital x-rays, it was determined that Chance’s coffin bone had started to rotate. Between the vet and farrier, they were able to trim his feet to an angle where his coffin bone was parallel to the ground. This helped his comfort level tremendously.
Angela then introduced me to the concept of natural hoof trimming, and directed me toward Cheryl Henderson, abchoofcare.com, a gal in Oregon in whom she had confidence. Cheryl was amazingly helpful and empathetic, and connected me with one of her students, Barb Taylor, who lived in Clayton, WA, 1 ½ hours from our place. I drove up to see her and during the conversation, she noticed the blood test results in Chance’s file and told me to forward them to Dr. Thomas for interpretation. She also forwarded Chance’s x-rays to Cheryl for interpretation and suggestions. Everyone was SOOOOOO helpful.
I sent the blood test results to Dr. Thomas. The short version of his analysis stated that we had caught Chance just in time. He had Equine Metabolic Syndrome with Insulin Resistance and that the high levels of sugar in his blood was already starting to effect his pancreas. Had we gone on much longer, it would have been too late. He suggested a slight change in protocol (herb types, amounts and intervals) and encouraged me by his confidence in what he had developed and was prescribing. He also made it clear that Chance should not be stalled, but rather given every opportunity to walk as much as possible in order to keep the blood pumping to/through his feet for a quicker recovery.
Barb Taylor came out in March and conducted a natural horse trimming class for 5 of us, including my farrier. It was an excellent overall presentation. The “learning” came in the hands on “try” that has followed ever since. Barb came by and checked my work for the first six months, making corrections and answering questions. I am now able to do the trimming on my own for the most part. Since we have four horses, and natural trimming is best done every two weeks if the horses are pastured on soft ground, this has saved us a lot of money
Chance’s feet grew out totally by the end of the year. His feet were pain free enough to socialize and romp with therapy boots on a month. Standing for trimming took a bit longer for him to tolerate, since he had to put all his front end weight on one affected foot or the other. He is down to one herb, EMS/Cushing’s/IR , to control “equine diabetes”, and is fed only low carb grass hay for forage.
I remember being a "barn hag" for at least a month during Chance's acute time of diagnosis and initial recovery. I smelled like a horse most of the time. Make-up? What was that???? My husband suggested therapy when I began to snort in my cereal and milk. When I finally took the time to read other’s experience on the For Love of the Horse Forum, I realized that I was not alone in this and that many of the "experienced in aiding laminitis recovery" (Sis-tas) are very forthright with talking about the time and dedication needed to aid recovery.
I didn ’t ride Chance for all of 2009, since he was still recovering from a muscle/ ligament injury contracted when he got stuck in mud up to his belly in early 2008. This year (2010), however, he is a fully recovered, 22 year old equine friend. He is full of energy and eager to get out on the trail….maybe a little TOO eager. My second ride out he took off mid-mount. I’m not sure if our border collie was involved in that or not…..I usually get the fallout of their love/hate relationship. I found out I wasn’t any good at trick riding the hard way. Angela had warned me that a two year rest might turn him into a handful now that he felt good. She was right. My husband, who is not a horse person told me he didn’t want me back on Chance. He finally compromised and said that if I mounted him 25 times with Chance not moving a muscle, he’d agree to my resuming riding him.….Right. Chance was wonderful on our third ride out…interested, energetic and determined…the Chance I know and love.
I am VERY GRATEFUL for the For Love of the Horse organization. Dr. Thomas’s research and product development saved my horse’s life. His wonderful, caring, knowledgeable and helpful staff are tops.
